The Best 80s Cartoons for Girls and Boys

Are you a child of the 80s, or just one who grew up loving all of the 80s cartoons? They just don’t make cartoons like that anymore, and I’d argue they probably won’t ever again — heck, they’ve tried! While networks (and movie studios) have tried in recent years to revive some of the old 80s cartoons, nothing new really compares.

While there’s no “best 80s cartoons” list that everyone will agree on, I’m going to break down my five top picks for 80s girls’ cartoons and 80s boys’ cartoons, and then follow it up with a list of other cartoons from the 80s. See if they spark any memories, and then share your favorite 80s cartoons with us in the comments!

The Best 80s Cartoons for Girls

I grew up as a girl in 80s, so I’m a bit biased towards the female-oriented cartoons. To be completely honest with you, I still watch some of these when I need brain candy (and others I’d love to be able to get my hands on (namely the old Charmkins special and Rose Petal Place cartoons). Looking back at what my friends and I most often watched (and which shows sucked us into making our parents buy the most toys — the real purpose of many 80s cartoons), here are my top five picks for the best 80s cartoons for girls:

I don’t remember a lot about the Lady Lovely Locks cartoon, but I remember that I just had to have the toys and for some reason the dolls’ hair always seemed insanely long (then again, the hair was kind of a focal point). But they were cute. They had pretty dresses. And they had those cute little Pixietails. For a little girl in the 80s, what wasn’t to love?

4. My Little Pony

Screenshot from My Little Pony: The Movie

Credit: Aimee Ray (via Flickr)*

While I can’t say My Little Pony was necessarily one of my favorite 80s cartoon to watch, you have to admit they sure knew how to get little girls (and their parents) to buy toys. They could have created an infinite line of pony toys — change a color here, alter a size there — and we would have kept buying. Heck, we did! The cartoons themselves were cute, although I always found Megan to be a bit on the obnoxious side.

The My Little Pony movies were always better than the cartoons, but the quality was generally pretty similar. To this day I still love the characters of Catrina (one of the villans) and the bushwillies. I mean, come on, they were even cuter than the ponies!

My Little Pony is one of those 80 cartoons for girls that got a resurgence recently. While I haven’t seen new cartoons, I have seen the toys. This is one case where they didn’t mess with an 80s classic too much either — the new pony toys reminded me quite a bit of the originals.

3. Rainbow Brite

Credit: Slgrandson (via Wikipedia)*

Credit: Erin Williamson (via Flickr)*

I loved this show. To this day though, I’m really not sure why. Maybe it was the contrast of the bright colors of the heroes combined with the more dismal settings in some of the stories. Maybe it was that I liked strong female lead characters (not that she was the strongest). Or maybe I just really, really wanted a horse like Starlite who could gallup through the sky on a rainbow. You tell me.

As much as I loved Rainbow Brite, I’m thrilled that it never got a full-scale update. I don’t recall a new cartoon version, but a few years ago they did try to bring back the show’s toys. They even kept them somewhat true to the originals. But Rainbow Brite is one 80s cartoon better left in the 80s.

2. Strawberry Shortcake

Screenshot from the original intro to The World of Strawberry Shortcake

Credit: gizzypooh (via Flickr)

I wanted to make Strawberry Shortcake my number one pick for the top 80s cartoons for girls. I really did. But they killed it for me when they brought it back a few years ago. The updated animation was atrocious compared to the original (of course I’m biased). The only updated show they made a bigger disgrace of recently was The Care Bears (have you seen the awful 3D animation on some of those things?).

I remember having the old records with the music, and just loving all of the characters of this one. I had the sheet set, a nightgown (I want to say a night cap too), and of course the dolls. I even made my mom make me a Strawberry Shortcake pillow for the bed. I was obsessed (but I’ll take being obsessed with an 80s cartoon over a modern one any day).

1. She-Ra: Princess of Power

Credit: Drpryr (via Wikipedia)*

Credit: Ray C (via Flickr)*

Okay. If He-Man was the “master of the universe,” then his sister She-Ra was the master (or mistress) of marketing. I don’t even know how we managed to store all of the She-Ra toys they released, but we bought them, played with them until they were falling apart, and bought some more!

Sure, She-Ra was a bit on the corny side — okay, very. But we loved it. We had our fill of cute, soft, and fluffy and She-Ra gave us a more empowered female superhero-style character to idolize. And for that, she gets my top pick of the 80s cartoons for girls.

I know my top picks may not be yours, so here are some other great 80s cartoons for girls. Let us know why (or if) you loved them!

Jem! and the Holograms (I have friends who would hate me for not including Jem in the top five, but it just didn’t do much for me as much as I know others loved it.)

Rose Petal Place (This is one of my favorites, but I didn’t feel it was appreciated widely enough to make the list – it involved a film or two to promote the toys instead of a regular series.)

Star Fairies (I remember loving the dolls for this one.)

Poochie Cartoon Special (This is one of the more interesting ones. Watch it if you haven’t — cute pink pooch goes to Egypt.)

Charmkins (A cartoon movie special to promote Charmkins toys which, looking back, were really quite the choking hazard — but it’s still a great cartoon!)

The Best 80s Cartoons for Boys

While I may not have grown up as a boy in the 80s, I did grow up with two brothers and two male cousins around the same age, so I’ve seen more 80s cartoons for boys (and their toys!) than I care to remember. Just like with the 80s cartoons for girls, I know readers are going to have their own favorites so if you don’t see them here feel free to share them in the comments!

5. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

Screenshot from the Intro Sequence of GI Joe: A Real American Hero

Credit: CG76 (via Flickr)

I won’t pretend to remember this cartoon well, but I remember the boys being obsessed with it, and constantly playing with their little G.I. Joe dolls (I mean “action figures”). It’s the new found interest and the upcoming G.I. Joe film that edged this boys’ 80s cartoon onto our top five list.

4. Thundercats

Screenshot of Thundercats Cartoon Intro / Logo

Credit B. Baltimore Brown (via Flickr)

I do remember watching this show with the boys growing up. For the most part I found the characters a bit disturbing (maybe it was just a girl thing), but I did love annoying little Snarf. This was one of those cartoons that really came to represent the animated style of the 80s to me (not to mention that I love most cartoons put together by Rankin-Bass). With that in mind, I’ll probably avoid the pending resurgence — said to be a CGI movie due out in 2010.

3.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Credit: CoverBrowser.com

Credit: Matt Chan (via Flickr)

I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but okay, I really did like this show! This was one my brothers and I could agree on, although I can’t tell you why. Being a late 80s cartoon, the animation style was a bit different than some of the older ones. Maybe that’s what captivated me. Or maybe the idea of martial arts-loving reptiles was just cute to me… at the time. While I haven’t seen the most recent TMNT film, this is yet another 80s cartoon for boys that made it to the limelight a second time (or do we want to consider that a third, given the older films?). What can I say? This is one of those 80s cartoons I have a warm spot for.

As for the intro video above, I apologize for the fact that it’s shaky and literally someone filming their television screen. But it was the only true original version I could find for you (others were all European edits making them the “Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles” because they censored out “Ninja”).

2. He-Man: Masters of the Universe

Hulu.com Screenshot of He-Man Intro

Credit: Steve Berry (via Flickr)

He-Man may not rank as highly on this list as his sister did as my top 80s cartoon for girls, but number two isn’t too shabby! This was another boys’ cartoon that I didn’t mind watching. Okay, so the whole “by the power of Grayskull” bit is kind of cheesy, but then again in the 80s, what wasn’t? I have to admit though — I was always secretly rooting for Skeletor.

1. Tranformers

Screenshot of Transformers Intro / Logo

Updated Optimus Prime - Credit: Steve Kay (via Flickr)

Let’s say I’m ranking Transformers number one for the sake of the peanut gallery. I can’t really grasp the fascination with robots turning into cars and such myself, but the show seemed to captivate the imagination of little boys everywhere (and sell a lot of toys to boot!). I remember sitting in a movie theater watching previews pretty long before the first recent Transformers film came out. It was a superhero movie, so as you can imagine the theater was filled with young testosterone. Then a preview came on. A vague one — it must have been the first. I had no idea what the preview was supposed to be for. The men in the theater did. You could feel the excitement. It was funny and disturbing at the same time. But needless to say, they wanted their Transformers fix then, and I’m happy to give it to them here too.

Not satisfed with the top 80s cartoons for boys listed here? See if any of these strike your fancy.

Dangermouse

Battle of the Planets

Voltron

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show

Bananaman

Not all of the 80s cartoons we got to know and love really fit under the boys’ or girls’ labels. There were plenty of shows loved (and not so loved) by both sexes alike. So I’m going to leave you with a list of additional 80s cartoons to look back on. Reminisce away!

Care Bears

The Smurfs

Ducktales

The Mysterious Cities of Gold

The Get Along Gang

Pac Man

Alvin and the Chipmunks

The Jetsons (revived in the 80s)

The Family Circus holiday specials

The Wuzzles

The Glo Friends

Disney’s Adventures of the Gummie Bears

Popples

Healthcliff

Dennis the Menace

Inspector Gadget

The Legend of Zelda

Tell us about your favorite 80s cartoons (or even let us know your own top ten picks) by leaving a comment below!

Disclaimer: All images, photos, screenshots, and show intro video clips are believed to be covered by fair use rights under U.S. copyright law, being used for the purpose of editorial illustration / identification in the context of reviews or critiques.

The Best 80s Cartoons for Girls and Boys was last modified: August 10th, 2009 by Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern is a professional blogger, freelance writer, and former social media and PR consultant. She covers small business, online business, marketing, PR, social media, blogging, freelance writing, and indie publishing for a variety of online publications. She also handles copywriting and PR writing for small and online businesses. Find her on Twitter @jenn_mattern.

238 comments

NickDecember 30, 2011 at 3:59 am

Cartoon movie all I remember is a girl gets taken by a giant robot when the hero saves her by defeatinf the robot they discover a small man inside controlling it. He loved the girl he took. Thats all I remember I think they lived in a forest too.

fantastic max had a “doll” that was actually an alien and when you pulled his string he said rocket and roll and hid blocks would turn into a rocket or his blanky would be a parachute etc also had a robot made our of blocks called a.b.

“Rock it and roll?” Do you mean Widget? A purple/pink little alien with elfin ears?
I used to watch “Widget” and “Denver the dinosaur” as a kid, although I can’t remember if they belong to the 80’s or the 90’s.

Hi Linda, well i don”t remember “Widget” and just saw a bit of an episode on youtube and didn’t ring any bells! But im pretty sure it is Fantastic Max what Nick mentioned. But let me tell you this; I was and still am a huge fan of “Denver the Last Dinosaur” and i still remember the song! Guess we have that in commun huh?

Wow. Very cool to see so many old school cartoons mentioned here. Thanks for adding more folks. 🙂 Some of these I’d completely forgotten about, and there are others you’ve listed that I hadn’t even heard of.

please help. i’ve been thinking about this girl cartoon in the 80s or 90s..reminds me of barbie but not barbie I don’t think. teens in a convertible, love fashion and palm trees. I don’t think it’s Beverly Hills Teens any others i might be thinking about?

I’m trying to think of maybe a cartoon movie. Very vague….someone travels into a crater in the moon. There are other creature and people type things down there. The one was kind of strange and you weren’t sure if they were good or bad. My mom always made me turn it off so I can’t give more details. Any clues would be awesome!

I’m not sure about that one. The only one I can remember related to space was The Little Prince. But I don’t remember enough about it to know if that’s what you’re thinking of. That was a series though, so probably not.

There’s another one I’ve never heard of. Was that aired in the U.S. at all as far as you know? It’s awesome to see people bringing up so many 80s cartoons that are completely new to me. I wish more of them were easily accessible today so we could check them out. I still think most 80s cartoons were far superior to most put out today. Of course I’m biased. 🙂

There is a cartoon that i can remember and it has a girl who has a blue or purple creature friend. Its magic and i believe in the opening credits it cleans her room really fast like with the snap of a finger. I always wanted to be able to do that. Anyone got any ideas on what it is?

I’m so happy to help. 🙂 Rose Petal Place was an awesome cartoon. A part of me has always wished they’d bring it back, but at the same time I worry they’d ruin it if they tried. Unfortunately, I just don’t think it was popular enough at the time.

I have been looking for the name of a cartoon I remember watching as a kid in the 80s it freaked me out because the kids went to bed then underneath their beds would begin to glow and they were transported to another land and didn’t know how to get home. I had nightmares for years about this and still think of it frequently. Does anyone else remember it?

Not a whole show, but it sounds like an episode from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon (whole cartoon is about them trying to get home, but the main group got there on a ride instead of under their beds).

OMG i just remebered about a Movie that also gave me nightmares and was scared to death while watching (when the movie supposed to be funny). It also had to do with a monster coming under the bed just like Jodi said; although like I said it was a movie…I believe Fred Savage stared in the film

Hello was wondering if anyone happen to know of a movie, im pretty positive it was a movie cause I remember popping in the VHS hahaha any how it was about a little girl that was playing in her room with her brother it might have been raining and she had a stuffed bunny rabbit then all of a sudden it comes alive then they go to a make believe world but its not a cartoon and its her birthday and I remember the rabbit has a bday party for her its a sing and dance movie if anyone knows the name or remembers any more details that can explain it better so someone else could remember it would be awesome it could have been early 90s or late 80s I know they sing little peter rabbit and I believe she wears a pretty red dress and shoes and the party given by the rabbit hahaha

*** PLEASE HELP***
Im searching for a cartoon from the 80’s i think, it was a short show, about a Texas cowboy that travelled around on his horse, saving folks from the bad guy, ate beans mostly & said “much obliged ma’am” a fair bit. Any light shed will be extremely welcome, I’ve read every post & no ones mentioned it yet.

hai.. i am looking for this cartoon/movie i’m not sure.. i vaguely remembers it also, watched it in the 90’s. All i can remember is that in the final battle, gold guy vs silver, ice with fights a thunder witch i think and earth will fights fire/lava. hmm.. anyone got any clue? I’ve been searching for it for such long time. i can’t remember the cartoon but i know it is not Captain Planet.. 🙁

That doesn’t sound familiar to me anbu. But if it’s from the 90s rather than the 80s, I’m probably not as familiar with it. I didn’t watch as many cartoons then. Hopefully another reader has seen it and can help you identify it. 🙂

help going crazy. I used to watch like a sing-along cartoon movie. It had a little girl with blonde pigtails. I think her name was emily. she had a cat. they would sing fara jacques, and something like how to say hi around the world. weird i know

I’m trying to figure out if I dreamed this or not, but I remember I had a stuffed-animal toy that looked kind of like a centaur and his name was Rambunctious. I remember he was brown and came with a bow and arrow. Was this a cartoon?

Totally just found it. It’s name was actually Rambumptious and he was a pet goat to Jadoo of the Wonder Whims. I was slighty off, especially about the bow and arrow. I remember I just liked the goat, haha. I can’t find anything on the cartoon so perhaps they were just toys. Thanks all the same, I’m enjoying remembering all these great 80’s moments!

I was born in 83 and I remember all of these cartoons. While I failed to recall the names of some of them, I remembered by simply looking at the pictures. This era was my most memorable. My parents and older siblings still laugh at the stuff I used to do as a kid. They said that I had a Thundercats sword and that I used to raise it up in the air and say,”Thundercats..Thundercats!! Ohhhh!!!” lol. He-man was a favorite, as well. My #1 favorite was Voltron, though. It was so awesome watching those lions form into the cool looking Voltron. Ahh…beautiful memories!

Great post! The only one not mentioned that was childhood staple at our house was “Curious George”. Also, I know it was an animated film rather than a cartoon series, but still “The Last Unicorn” was like my ultimate favorite as a kid!! I have alot of these cartoon intros collected on a Pinterest board if anyone is interested: http://pinterest.com/tiffmay/nostalgia/

Lamb chop, Bearinstien Bears..Reading Rainbow, You cant do that on Television. Adventures of Alex Mac, Are you afraid of the dark?. What would you do?,Hey Dude. Salute your shorts. Guts. Wish Bone. Bozo and cookie the clown. Land of the Lost. Dinosaurs( “not the Mamma”), Captain Planet and the Planetteers. Howard The Duck. Little Shoppe of Horrors, The Never ending Story 1 & 2. The Labyrinth. Short Circuit, Gremlins, Garbage pail Kids, Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood and the Land of Make Believe. Alf, Mork and Mindy,Perfect Strangers, Webster, Different Strokes, The Sunny Time Train Station Hosted and Narration By George Carlin. Magic Dragons. Tales From The Crypt…and U.S.A’s Up All Night with Rhonda and Gilbert Godfreid All Of Ernest Goes To…..lol I Miss all of these today as a 31 year old adult..oh I almost forgot Keenan and Kel show..All That..Family matters

Does anybody know the name of this old show cat series: it’s about a Victorian *or some sort* black cat who was cursed to being a painting on the wall for hundreds of years & becomes a real life at night in a museum *or somthin* with the help of a magical pink ring on his finger, & he was discovered by a female orange feline *she maybe be a detective or reporter, I don’t know really!* & later they formed a light romantic relationship through the middle of the action series,??!!!! please I| need to know the name of this 80s-90s series ASAP!!!! -_-;

Pound puppies was cute. I can’t believe I forgot about that one, especially since they’ve brought it back (although I’m far from impressed with the new version). Garfield was another good one. The Felix cartoons were great too. But I wouldn’t consider him an 80s cartoon. Apparently his first feature film was in the 80s. But the television cartoon was from the 50s (just being replayed in the 80s), and Felix himself first came about in 1919. 🙂

Hi, now this is incredibly vague, but I remember a cartoon similar in style etc to My Little Pony and Care Bears, i.e pink-ish girly animal type characters. I’m sure one of their names was Footloose… It’s been driving me insane, none of my friends can remember the title either. If anyone could help I’d be extremely grateful!

They were a bunch of cartoon characters, looked vaguely like dinosaurs and they all had a black stripe (like a eye mask but in their skin) across where their eyes were. They’d basically help save earth from baddies. I do remember one being like a pterodactyl… Oh and they were all solid colours- red, blue, green etc. help!

Look up Diplodo and see if that looks familiar to you. It was actually a french cartoon, but on Youtube I found some in English. So it’s possible it aired somewhere other than France back in the 80s. They look kind of like dinosaurs wearing black masks — the closest thing I could find to your description.

i was wondering if you know the cartoon i remember.. i was very young dont know if this was an 80’s or 90’s cartoon.. was guys in like fighter jets and there was 1 of them that tried to pull off a straight up move like fly straight up in the air.. i had this on video and i have never came across it.. any help would b appreciated thanx

Hey guys, Do you know the name of the cartoon about a girl with golden curly hair with a white cat who is running from a princess whose jewel the cat swallowed..There is also a masked prince who keeps saving them with a boy cat .And there are these group of men chasing the girl.. I really need the name of the cartoon..am going crazy.. help please

Anyone remember a show about these two little girls, they looked a little like ‘Rainbow brite’ characters, I think one was pink and the other was blue or yellow and they were in space and one had pigtails I think and wore something with a star on it..?

Looking for the name to a cartoon with a boy I think called Z he invented these vehicles that could join together like a train and had a ninja robot with three hands. This might be an early 90 cartoon.

Hi guys, its me again! Thanks a Million for your previous help on finding “Phantom Cat”!!….but recently, I remembered a few of my Favorite 70s-80s TV shows, but I can’t quite remember what their names are!!! 🙁 So, I thought you could help me out because you are more professional!! 🙂 …I do not remember the names, but I can tell you some details in point form if you wish:

1) An old cartoon about an old shopkeeper who sells plant vases, but there is one plant vase that the shopkeeper doesn’t sell, which inhabits small creatures like family, they gain there strength by drinking small magical bottles stored in old shelves that contains plenty others, later the old kind shopkeeper discovered their existence & befriended them, they even helped him visit their world by giving him one of the magical bottle to shrink him *remembered it in an episode*!

2) A very old cartoon *not sure if its USA/Canadian, it might be European*, its about an alternate universe, probably far futuristic, about a protagonist named “Blue”, he is a tall blue humanoid alien with a blue alien dog that can transform into an air slid to ride across the sky, I think the series is named after him *I don’t know for sure*, all I remember was, in farthest episodes, he & the dog discovered a similar blue alien female locked in a egg shaped bed (probably a suspended animation capsule), they freed her, & they became a trio!!.. I also remember this specific episode where the trio visited a place like hell, which was inhabited by red like creatures who had never seen or tasted water!! & when Blue gave them a bottle of water, it breaks when touched by the red creatures!!

3)Another European cartoon, but not too old, I think it was made in 1990s, its about a rescuing crew that has a ship & marine plane, with a captain that has black hair & fair skin!! & their enemy is an evil co-op that destroys the environment or something, that calls themselves “Barracuda”, because their henchmen has barracuda tattoos on their arm/shoulder, & I remember the good captain was falsely accused & was arrested, *probably by bad guys*!! & the crew is trying to run things & save their captain from jail or something!!

4)Another old comedy cartoon, I think its Hanna/Barbara production, because the animation style looks like old scooby doo!! its about an alien father & son (father has white hair with 2 tentacle telekinesis & son is red hair with only 1 tentacle telekinesis) with their pink alien dog, went to earth, befriended their kind neighbours father & daughter *blonde she was* & they know about who they really are, & there is this goofy inspector that always want to discover their secret!! , this particularly funny scene I always remember & it never gets old, everytime the inspector always questioned the alien dad what’s behind the door *probably an advanced alien made laboratory*, & the alien dad answers always “there is nothing behind that door” or something, & the inspector insist by running through the door, but the alien dad always change the location that, the inspector finds himself out of the building, falls & land on a barrel of water!!

5)this one is not animation but I always enjoy watching it!! & I hope you guys can help me, I know you only are expert on cartoons, but their are also cool live action series from late 1980s, its about a boy & girl *probably siblings*!, they had this cool invention, a machine that brings back people from older times to the present day!!, probably the kids learn from them at the end of the episode & the people return to their times!! I remember they brought Cleopatra, & African immigrant from the south *later she shows the kids the way out by making a compass out of leaf, hair pin, magnet stone & a hat full of water, & they brought also a Psychologist of fear in Halloween, they brought him in an old house where there is decoration like fake skeletons & fake Guillotine that scared a lady, but the Psychologist wasn’t scared at all, but I remember this quote from him, he said “The question is why we fear”!

6) Another non-animated series, but I its the first time I saw it, it was a scene from the episode, I never had the chance to know the name of the series nor I did watch it regularly, but all I remember was this blue alien boy who attends middle school on earth, & everybody seems to know him, he has a white horn on his head which he does telekinesis with it!

sorry guys if I maybe be a persistent, it must have taken you so long to answer my long previous questions!!..I am sorry because I just remember another cartoons to add it on the long list for you to help me out!!

1) there is old cartoon about an animated tiny wizard who enters into children real live dreams turning them into cartoon to help them out!!

2) another old cartoon, I don’t think its neither USA nor Canadian made, its kinda European!..about 2 kids in an old poor street, a boy & girl with their dog, their job is to capture mice for living!! I remember one episode where they meet an old countess with her pet rat, bedridden & her evil relatives want to poison her for her inheritance, instead her pet rat drank the poisonous soup & the kids trying to save her by escaping her from the balcony!!